[Closed] Nikon lens mtb photography

Depends what kind of MTB photos you want to shoot... Anything from a 10mm wideangle to a 300mm zoom could be useful. And most things inbetween too!

Do you want a new lens because there is a shot you can't get but think must be possible, or to make current photos better?

Taking photos of mountainbikes AND carrying on a mountain bike?

you won't get a lot for £200 - an extra £50 will get you a wide angle lens

As above, depends what you're wanting to shoot and where. I use one of the 50mm f1.8 lenses, bought for not very much secondhand/reconditioned and I like it - fast, sharp and great for short depth-of-field close-ups to landscape-y type wide shots.

Also, where/what do you want to shoot. E.g. time for setup, shooting a race/event? Or just on rides?

If you want something fun and cheap, can I suggest a series E 50mm 1.8? Will be full manual on the D40, but it's the smallest lens nikon have ever made* and will be as compact as you can get on your D40 (my gf has this pairing). A lot wider aperture than your kit lens, so you can still freeze the action in lower light, or get shallow DOF. Nice sharp lens too. Expect to pay £40-60 ish.

*ok there was an obscure 45mm pancake a tiny bit smaller

Currently have a 18-105mm wanted something that would let more light so wouldn't need a flash. Yes will be carrying on the bike too so wanted a smaller lens. Still learning so always looking to take better shots.

Great thanks IA that's sounds just the job 🙂

I'm not personally a fan of very fast lenses for sports work, especially if its going to be fully manual. at f1.8 I think the amount of shots that come in 'out of focus' will be high, so you'd have to stop it down, almost eliminating half the point of the lens..

I've used a 50mm f1.4 on a D40 (where it becomes a manual) and just takes a bit of practice and understanding of how much 'depth' of focus you get at different f stops and distance to point you're focussing on.

Maybe have a look at the Tamron 28-75 1.8 as well. Fast AND zoomy (though not as fast as a prime, I have both).

isn't that an f2.8 not an f1.8?

Is your 18-105mm lens a vr version?

Nikon do a 55-300 and 70-300 vr version too, but a bit out of you price range.

I used a 50mm F1.4 recently for a Karate comp. on my D90 as no flash was permitted

As 5lab mentioned the dof is crazy close up at 1.4, you do need to know what you are doing with that sort of lens, stil a great lens to have in your bag.

@ski yes my current lens is the vr version, and just looking a capturing friends when out riding.
Have had a quick look on eBay and plenty of series E 50mm 1.8 available so will hopefully grab myself a bargain! Thanks for all the advise.

@ski yes my current lens is the vr version, and just looking a capturing friends when out riding.
Had had a quick look on eBay and plenty of series E 50mm 1.8 available so will hopefully grab myself a bargain! Thanks for all the advise.

btw, someone was selling a a Nikon AF-D 50mm f1.4 for £185 (I think) on the classified recently?

[seller not link to me btw]

its also worth noting that on a 'small' sensor (ie not full frame) a 50mm is quite long for woodland shots. If you're going to be shooting in the woods a lot, take your current lens with you and only use it at 50mm to see if the restriction limits you or not

btw, someone was selling a a Nikon AF-D 50mm f1.4 for £185 (I think) on the classified recently?

Barganious.

I have the 1.8 version and love it.

FYI you can't autofocus with the 50mm f/1.8d on the D40. It does make you good at manual focussing, although I'd recommend an eyepiece magnifier to make it a bit easier.

Nice thread
Just got a 2nd hand d70s and been thinking of getting some old style lenses, having been a kid when I got into photography.
E 50mm 1.8 will try as a starter
Any recommendations for something longer, for a bit of sports photography - boats/planes. Ideally in same category of nice old lens at a reasonable price.
J.

You can't beat a nice stadard 50mm prime lens with an F less than 2. You'll soon get the hang of it, prefocussing is dead easy to do. Plus it'll let you shoot moving images in a lot lower light level than ANY zoom lens would.
Might also be worth considering something with a slightly wider angle, like say 35mm focal length. Nice lenses without too much distortion that you might get with say a 24 or 28mm lens.

I'm not personally a fan of very fast lenses for sports work, especially if its going to be fully manual. at f1.8 I think the amount of shots that come in 'out of focus' will be high, so you'd have to stop it down, almost eliminating half the point of the lens..

Yes, but......

If you assume that the lense works at it's best a few stops up/down from the limits, then a 1.8 will work better arround f3.4 than the kit lense which only goes down to f3.4 (ish).

I agree with that, but the upgrade isn't going to make a massive difference to someone's photography. the pictures may have slightly less vinietting, or a bit less pincusion effect, but often these are only really noticable if you're looking for them. If you're just messing about in the woods with your mates, I'm not sure this kinda thing is noticable (I've taken random shots with my lenses both wide open and stopped down, and when viewing the full picture, I can't notice any difference - I can only notice it when looking at a blown up crop).

dont rule out the 35mm f/1.8, it's as good as the 50mm but will autofocus on your D40